Ryūgū Rena
Character Summary Ryuugu Rena is in the same grade level as Maebara Keiichi. She is known to have an obsession with all things cute and will often try to take those things home with her, whether they're hers to take or not. Such things include the "Kenta-kun" doll, Furude Rika, Hanyuu, and any of the club members in punishment game outfits. She spends a lot of her time 'treasure-hunting' at the town's trash heap. The Higurashi fanbase tends to be uncertain whether the item she found in the town's trash heap (anime), or a tool shed (manga) was a cleaver, billhook, or a hatchet; the popular term is "cleaver", however the most accurate term would be nata. A nata is a gardening tool used for clearing brush, though it generally does not have the spike on the end that Rena's does. Rena's parents are both fashion designers, and while she was born in Hinamizawa, her family soon moved away to Ibaraki for the sake of her mother's advancing career. Her mother soon started an affair with a co-worker, and Rena met him a couple of times. She found him to be generally agreeable, although she didn't understand the reality of her mother's relationship with him until her mother asked her come away to start a new family with the two of them. Her mother was pregnant with the man's child, and was planning to leave her father. Her father was devastated, and Rena blamed herself. She spurned her mother, saying she never wanted to see her again, and nearly went mad with the guilt. She would cut at herself, trying to get rid of the "filthy blood" that was left in her by her mother, and imagined it to be filled with maggots. She started to behave in violent and irratic ways. Three of her male classmates were harmed, although there is some implication that they were the instigators of the incident since they decided not to press charges. She also smashed all the windows in her school, and was eventually hospitalized. She later claimed that what broke her out of this state was the Shrine God of Hinamizawa, Oyashiro-sama, who 'said' to Rena: "If you want to live, move back to Hinamizawa; that's the only way you'll be safe." Rena and her father moved back to Hinamizawa, and Rena, whose birth name was "Reina", changed her name as a part of her new start. Her experience with Oyashiro-sama allowed her to bond with Hojo Satoshi when he started experiencing similar problems. In Tsumihoroboshi-hen, Mamiya Rina, a scam artist, targets her father. In an attempt to protect her father and herself, Rena ends up fighting and killing Rina. Not long after this Takano Miyo entrusts her with her scrapbook. Takano dies shortly after, but after reading the book Rena begins to question the nature of Oyashiro-sama and the honesty of her friends. She takes the school building and those inside hostage, and only the intervention of Keiichi stops her from making another horrible mistake and becoming another fatality of the Hinamizawa syndrome. Physical Description Rena is a redhead with short hair in the back in an angled cut with long sides, and her bangs part on the left of her forehead. Her eyes are blue and droop at the ends. On her school days, she wears what appears to be a typical sailor fuku, with a yellow ribbon, and white socks with brown shoes. On her free days, she wears a white dress with a purple bow tie and sash, complete with a cap. She also wears thigh-high black socks with brown knee-high boots. In the first episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Rena appears as an adult in a purple business suit. Personality Rena seems to have a sweet and friendly nature, although situations in the story can cause that to change dramatically; in Onikakushi-hen, in particular, she is shown to react strongly to one of Keiichi's remarks with "Uso da! (Liar!)". She occasionally comes off as a bit of an airhead, but is actually rather intuitive, especially when it comes to her friends. Rena appears to be very perceptive, as she is able to somewhat understand people just by looking at their face. She's also able to form detailed and eerily accurate hypotheses of crime scenes based on evidence she observed. Rena has a sort of secret base in the trash heap: an old van that has been hollowed out filled with the sort of things she likes, which she sometimes retreats to it when she's distressed. During the first episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, ''Rena appears to have been scarred for life from a great amount of depression and anxiety after being one of the few people who survived the events that occured in Hinamizawa (in the post-''Tsumihoroboshi-hen world). Relationships Maebara Keiichi Rena and Keiichi's relationship is debated by many. Keiichi and Rena are very close friends. They face off against each other in many of the Club's Activities, most notably the water gun face off. They also battle on top of the school's roof in Tsumihoroboshi-hen. Keiichi also likes to "flirt", or make fun of her, while they walk to school together. Rena herself is shown to care about Keiichi quite a lot. Sonozaki Shion considers Rena to be Sonozaki Mion's rival. In the last episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, Rena confesses her feelings for him, although she thought that she was under influence of the magatamas (However, Hanyuu reacts to this as her real confession to Keiichi, while Rika is disgusted). Sonozaki Mion Mion and Rena are, and have been, best friends since the start of the series. When Rena was upset about her father and was thinking about murder, she went to Mion, who helped her decide against it. Furude Rika Rena and Rika have been close friends since the very start of the series. On many occasions Rena wants to take Rika home (mostly when in a punishment game outfit or her shrine maiden outfit). Rika sees Rena as a very kind and knowledgeable person throughout the series. However, when Rena took the school captive in Tsumihoroboshi-hen, Rika stands in her way while Keiichi is tries to stop Rena from destroying the school. Hojo Satoko Rena and Satoko have been close friends since the very start of the series. On many occasions, Rena has wanted to take Satoko home (mostly when in a punishment game outfit). Rena is shown to care dearly for Satoko, and is very concerned about her when she is being abused by Teppei. In ''Tsukiotoshi-hen'', she even agrees to kill Teppei along with Shion and Keiichi Takano Miyo Rena and Miyo have a strange relationtionship, especially during the last episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, when she was temporarily in love with Miyo, because of the magatama. Rena as an adult looks remarkably like Miyo, as seen in the first episode of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. Trivia * Rena seems to be the signature character of the series, as she is featured more than once during the frist season opening, as well as appearing on most of the album or game covers. She is also the only one that appears in her adult form 24 years later. * She has the second most expanded-upon backstory, behind only Furude Rika. Live Action Airi Matsuyama plays Ryuugu Rena in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni live-action movie series. Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Antagonists Category:The Club